


A Foreign Country

by attaccabottoni



Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Gen, Post-Devil May Cry 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-10
Updated: 2020-02-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:08:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22648399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/attaccabottoni/pseuds/attaccabottoni
Summary: Nero just wants his asshole father to stop jerking his feelings around. Vergil is sorry.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 79





	A Foreign Country

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 16 of Visions of V, featuring Nero and V’s first meeting, gave me a jumble of feels for Nero, and came out of it wanting Vergil to make up for all that crap he put his son through. As much as I like the idea of awkward and/or justifiably violent interactions between them, if I look at the whole plot of DMC 5 as a life-changing family reunion, then it’s possible they’ve learned not to deal with their problems by stabbing/shooting/punching first, and actually talk about what happened. So here’s my take on it.
> 
> The title is from L.P. Hartley: _"The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there."_

Taking a steadying breath, Nero faced Vergil squarely. “Nico was betting I would let fly the Devil Bringer first thing. Kyrie said I would hate myself later if I did that. So I’ll say my piece, and depending on what you tell me, I still might kick your ass.”

Beside Vergil, Dante rubbed his chin. “That’s fair.”

“Shut up, Dante!” “Shut up, Dante!”

Internally, Nero marveled at how he and his father had said the same thing at exactly the same time. Vergil had slightly widened eyes in reaction to his own outburst. Dante just grinned.

Shaking his head, Nero resisted the urge to pace in front of either of them. “The thing is, I’ve had time to think things over. In all the time we've known each other, this is how it looks like from my end.

“You attacked me and tore my arm off. Then you became Dante’s client. You invited me along, encouraged me to take revenge, on yourself as it turned out. It also turned out that all of this was part of the plan, in the effort to get back to yourself before your body broke down completely. Sounds right, so far?”

Not getting a response, he continued. “You thanked me for helping you, then you try to fight Dante to death, for the last time, damn it, or so help me. You and Dante went off to the Underworld without me, to set things right. Then both of you turn up like a couple of bad pennies or something, and you don’t give a shit enough to see fit to tell me if the next time you decide to fuck off again is going to be permanent or not.”

Vergil’s gaze gave away nothing. “Nero—”

Hearing the sound of his name in his father's voice, he couldn’t help but start speaking rapidly and in increasing volume. “I’ve been without my family all my life, now your very existence can’t just leave me alone. I won’t be satisfied until I know—”

As he bent his head and struggled with his words, Vergil took a step towards him. “Nero. You have done well for yourself. You ought to be able to enjoy a decent life, unfettered by anything that ties you to me. Whatever it is you may need for that to happen, I will do what I must.”

Nero peered up at Vergil to give him a pained glare. “Yeah, but even if it’s just depending on me to hold on to your book, you’ve made it impossible for me not to care.”

There was no change in Vergil’s face, but something in his eyes did. “I have chosen my regrets in life. Your existence is not one of them.”

Hysterically, Nero wondered if that meant that his existence was a regret that Vergil has not chosen, before a flash of red accompanied by a sudden push had him stumbling forward, needing to brace himself in the arms that caught him before he fell flat on his face.

If the top surprises of his life were of discovering his demonic lineage and the identity of his father, then the next one on the list was finding out that, despite all indications to the contrary, Vergil felt warm.

Even with his vision filled with the breadth of the solid chest to which he was being held close, he did not need to see it to sense the force of the glare that Vergil was sending behind Nero. “Was that really necessary?”

He could hear the shrug and smile in Dante’s voice. “Both of you could use it at this point. So I figured, why put it off any longer?”

As if in dawning agreement, Vergil’s arms around him slowly tightened.

Basking in the rare moment of stillness, no one said anything for a long time.


End file.
